Why gay men in UK are fascinated with ‘chav’ culture?

Washington: A new study is investigating the reason behind a growing fascination with ‘chav’ culture among middle-class gay men in Britain.

Professor Joanna Brewis, from the University of Leicester School of Management, UK, will conduct primary empirical research into gay class tourism following publication of findings reported last year in the journal Sociology.

Research she carried out with her former colleague Professor Gavin Jack, now at La Trobe University in Australia, revealed the complex consumer patterns of middle-class homosexual men who go “slumming” at chav nights in clubs, typically dressed in tracksuits, baseball caps and flaunting showy diamond and gold bling.

Brewis’ and Jack’s findings overturn the traditional stereotypes of gay men as cultured, bourgeois consumers, suggesting instead an interest in the lower-class values of chavs encapsulated in certain types of pornographic material, sex lines and night clubs.

“Our research opens up some interesting questions, including whether the fascination with chavs opens up the gay space for working class homosexual men, or just reinforces the view of the ‘unselective male libido’,” Brewis stated.